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The Perfume Genie
It is not everyday that you stumble upon a store where you can have your fragrance created
right in front of your eyes. Ex Nihilo, which is Latin for 'out of nothing', spreads its aroma
from the Rue Saint Honoré at the heart of the City of Love, Paris. It is a brand synonymous
with luxury and which is a staunch believer in the art of personalization, innovation and
experiment.
T
combinations. Personalization is the brand's
key principle and drives it to serving each
customer in a better way. Client preferences
are at the apex of creative decisions. A space
devised to look like a kitchen-house has
several points of interaction between the
customer and the brand. The only concept was
to experience the art of perfuming through a
sensorial connect with the physical space.
he Ex Nihilo store in Paris did not result
from any design brief. Instead, brainstorming sessions reinforcing brand
ideas in a physical format led to what we
see as the house of fragrances today. A small
space of about 40 sq. mts. has the power to
transport you to a different zone of scents
and mesmerize all your senses. The space was
small and the idea was huge. "We decided
that the most characteristic imaginary should
be an expression of high-end contemporary
craftsmanship environment made of an image
of functionality precision, interpreted in a very
accurate domestic elegant vocabulary," says
Christophe Pi I let, the designer brain behind
the project.
Ex Nihilo offers a collection of exclusive,
natural and pure perfumes in collaboration
with seminal artists. The brand concept of
personalization is reflected in the perfume
mixing machine displayed in the store as the
center of attraction.
The brand is a fusion of contrasting ethos
of modernity and tradition, innovation and
proficiency. The design of the space brings
out this character through material use. It
complements wood with blue felt and marble
with metal. A synthesis of materials results
in a cohesive arena where ideas bloom.
Perfumery ingredients are experimented to
their maximum limits and an attitude of
daring brings about the most unexpected
The facade of the store radiates surreal tones
to keep the effect mute. It is a mass-void
composition of white marble and windows.
The facade statement is underplayed to expose
the interior language to the maximum. The
Yves Klien-blue walls in the interior are the
attention seekers in the muted colour palette.
The store signage is a magnified replica of the
package design.The facade material continuity
lingers in the store with the flooring and
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stand-alone display units concocted from the
same white marble. The mirrored ceiling in the
store creates the illusion of a larger store. It is
quite in sync with the seed of the idea that the
store should spell luxury.
With space restriction posing as a speedbreaker to a fluid movement, the displays were
specially designed to be suspended to create
more room for movement. The only furniture
in the store are the metal chairs which are very
functional in design and resemble simplistic
chairs seen in kitchens. The metal goes with
the language of the store and the gesture of
having chairs in the store calls for an intimate
experience which demands the customer to
stay for a longer duration and revel in the
store experience.The displays are made of
American Oak wood with painted gold metal
finish which is suggestive of luxury even at
that level of detail. The walls recovered in the
blue felt fabric provide the backdrop for the
display units. The safety of products is taken
care of with the sliding glass doors in the
be more "moments" leading into a hierarchic
of these "moments". First step is discovering;
second step is learning about the perfumes
and third step is getting into customization
of the perfume." As the store is more about
experience rendering rather than a commercial
transaction, the cash counter is kept hidden
from the cone of vision at experience touch
points.
It is quite an irony that 'the perfume store' has
no signature smell of its own. Retail stores
world over strive to indulge the customer in
retail therapy using fragrance as a powerful
tool. But Ex Nihilo has an air cleaning machine
which helps keeps the smell as neutral as
possible for the customer to make their
unbiased decisions •
Mansi Lavsi
display units.
The entire space converges to a focal point
where manifests the staircase to the top
floor. It leads the customer to a private room
where they can spend more time with an
expert to customize their perfume to their
exact needs . As for the zoning, Christophe
Pillet says, "We did not consider zoning , may
Designer
Christophe Pillet